Weis: Give me a break

August 09, 2008|By JEFF CARROLL Tribune Columnist

SOUTH BEND -- In another life, Charlie Weis was probably a stand-up comedian or a traveling folk balladeer. The Notre Dame football coach absolutely knows how to play to a crowd. Confronted for the first time on Friday with direct questions about three of his underage football players showing up in a pair of Internet photos in the presence of alcohol earlier this week, Weis' initial impulse was to pick bravado over thoughtfulness. First, he joked about winning a $1 bet with a member of his staff about which reporter would broach the topic. Then, he launched into his clearly pre-planned talking point. "On a serious note," Weis began, "I think it's important that I don't condone underage drinking. I think that's important to say." "But that being said," he continued, raising both hands in a show of exasperation, "give me a break. Let's move on." The coach's New Jersey tough guy act can be both his best friend and worst enemy. It certainly appeals to a certain segment of the fan base who enjoy living vicariously through his alpha male routine. But later on at Friday's media day at Notre Dame Stadium, with the cameras off and the room cleared out, the grown-ups got to talking. As it turns out, Weis did indeed address the incident with his players -- in a roundabout way. He explained to them, he said, the sacrifices he himself has to make because of his status as a public figure. He didn't address his players' decisions to pose for the party photos specifically, but instead talked about the precautions he takes and hoped that the message would sink in. "Anyone who knows me," Weis explained, "will tell you I never have a drink in public. Ever. I won't go to a Christmas party if there's somebody who I don't know. To not do that would be a misjudgment on my part." If you don't know the specifics by now, some time over the last few months, quarterback Jimmy Clausen, running back Armando Allen, linebacker Brian Smith and running back James Aldridge dressed in all-red garb and posed for photos for friends in the presence of what appears to be beer. Clausen, Allen and Smith are not yet of legal drinking age. The photos stayed among friends until earlier this week, when they showed up on The Big Lead sports blog. It's not exactly the New York Times, but neither is the site wasting away in obscurity. By comparison, among Indiana newspapers, only the Indianapolis Star draws more Web traffic than The Big Lead, according to the Web traffic tracker Alexa.com. In other words, once the photos of Clausen and friends appeared on that site, the genie was out of the bottle. Weis was correct -- the transgression wasn't serious. The chance of disciplinary action by the university that would cost anybody playing time is negligible. But there is also no question that the whole affair was unquestionably avoidable. "They have to understand," Weis explained, "that as the technology changes, so do responsibilities." Weis seems to assume, probably correctly, that the photos -- absolutely mild by today's college standards -- began their journey across the Internet through social networking Web sites. The most likely culprit is Facebook.com, enormously popular among college students, who use it for everything from posting photos to alerting one another about weekend plans. "I've never seen either one of them," Weis said of the two most popular social networking sites, My Space and Facebook, "but my kid has one of them. I think high schoolers do one (My Space) and college kids do the other one (Facebook). I talked about those last night, too, even though I've never looked at one. I told my kid I would never invade his privacy. But I talked about My Space and Facebook last night, too." Clausen, who had another minor alcohol transgression last summer, Allen and Smith had a lapse in judgment when they posed for photos. But Clausen shows good judgment by not operating a Facebook page -- if photos like this are going to surface, at least they aren't going to come directly from him. The sophomore QB tossed his long blonde locks back and rolled his eyes when he was called a "celebrity" during media day. But as the star of one of the longest-running shows on NBC, that's precisely what he is. And though he may balk at the terminology, he claims to understand the responsibility that comes with his position. "You're in the spotlight at all times and that's what I love about Notre Dame," Clausen said. "You've got to carry yourself well, on and off the field." Talk, of course, is dirt cheap. If ND's players don't understand the glare they live in by now, they probably never will. Staff Writer Jeff Carroll (574) 235-6382 jcarroll@sbtinfo.com